Ask an Entrepreneur: How Can I Push Through Tough Days?

Readers are invited to submit a question for an entrepreneur, which we will then pose to a YEC member. This group is full of knowledge and experience — we’re eager to share their insights with you.

Question: How Can I Push Through Tough Days?

I believe in the company I am creating, but some days I feel crushed and depressed. Do you have any strategies that help you push through?

Meet Our Entrepreneur: Jinny Hyojin Oh, Founder, WANDR

Jinny Hyojin Oh is the founder of WANDR, a product strategy and UX design firm with team members from around the world. She’s a big advocate and keynote speaker for remote work and plans to launch her podcast on topics that cover how to build a million dollar company while traveling the world in early 2019.

Answer: Be Honest, Find a Mentor, and Take Some Time

I’ve always had a strong vision for the company, but there are days where I feel completely lost and scared.

Often times, I stare deep into my laptop screen and just feel like I’ve got nothing to push me forward. It also doesn’t help the fact that my entire team works remotely, so if I just shut down my laptop — I shut out my world.

It’s a struggle I deal with everyday — somedays, I just coast by without a problem. Some days however, I don’t have the mental capacity to do anything but to stare at my screen.

I found that I was often trying to tackle this burden on my own. However, I learned that in order to move forward and to fight through the days where I feel lost and scared, I had to be honest and transparent to the people around me.

Three things that have transformed my life to help push me forward away from the dark days are my team, my mentors, and simply taking days off.

Being honest to my team was extremely hard — I’ve always wanted to be strong and protect them from any problems we have in the business; however, I learned that by being open and allowing my team to fully see what’s happening not only within the business, but my personal world, they were immediately understanding and have been nothing but supportive.

Having a mentor also propelled my learning curve. Finding the right ones were tough, but once I’ve locked in a small group of mentors, they changed my life. My mentors have been like my guardian angels — guiding me to make smart business and personal decisions.

Lastly, if nothing else works, taking a few days off to clear my head has been extremely helpful. Sometimes, we just need time to take care of our health and refuel our mental and physical energy before tackling more work.